Chapter 520 520

"It's not that easy, Vernon," Chloe shook her head. She sighed and leaned on the wall behind her.

All this talk about Mackie and Vincent's relationship made her nauseous and weak.

"Why is it not easy? I'm pretty sure that Mackie will understand. After all, she has witnessed how crazy Vincent can be with her own eyes! You just need to tell her everything and she will hate Vincent forever!"

"Vernon, calm down…." Chloe soon noticed that Vernon started to get worked up by this conversation. "You don't need to get upset about this…."

"Chloe— you—" Vernon took a deep breath to calm himself down. Again, he was about to yell at Chloe for being so wishy-washy. He didn't like that Chloe kept covering for Vincent for absolutely no reason!

Thus, Vernon calmed himself first and softened his voice, "I have the right to be upset, Chloe. Mackie might be a child, but she has been exposed to some of the most fucked-up thing a kid would ever see, yet you still want to lie to her?"

"And don't give me that 'Mackie is still too young' as your main reason. Mackie might be young, but you should see how much she matured for the past seven months or so," Vernon insisted.

"But—"

"And you shouldn't worry that Mackie will not have any father figure in her life," Vernon puffed his chest and bumped his chest twice with his fist. "She has me. I am definitely a better father figure for her— more than Vincent will ever be. Heck, she can pass as my daughter and nobody will question her, we are so alike in everything!" Vernon claimed, which wasn't entirely false.

In fact, Chloe could vouch that Mackie had more of 'Vernon' than 'Vincent' in her blood. Mackie's mannerism was almost like a perfect copy of Vernon when he was a kid, and she believed that Mackie and Vernon would make a great father-daughter pair.

But what made her hesitate?

Chloe stared at Vernon and shook her head out of instinct. She was still hesitating to tell her daughter about Vincent's shitty behavior despite the chance that was given right in front of her.

Mackie already had a negative opinion of her father, so it wouldn't be hard to convince her that Vincent was a monster.

But she believed that telling her about this would do no good.

It'd only traumatize Mackie and give her a trust issue towards older men, and probably growing up with hatred of men in general. Chloe didn't want to raise Mackie with hatred.

"I know that you'd make a great father, Vernon. But this is not the way to tell Mackie about it," Chloe said. "Please wait a bit longer, okay? Let me find the right time to finally tell her about everything. We cannot rush this, especially to a kid."

Vernon still thought that Chloe was way too soft. He believed that Mackie was just mini-him, so she must have the same mental fortitude as him.

He was already used to seeing all the shits happening in her family when he was around Mackie's age, including his father sleeping with so many women, his mother beating him plenty of times, and his Big brother who treated him like a pet.

He had experienced everything, so he thought that Mackie would be able to handle it as well.

Vernon had a lot to say, but in the end, he decided to keep his mouth shut because the only one with authority over Mackie was Chloe.

Vernon sighed, "Alright, I will be patient because I believe that you'll find the right time and method to tell Mackie about this. Remember, you should not cover up for Vincent's craziness, he's not worth it."

Chloe nodded, "I know, I'll think of a method. And thank you for urging me to tell Mackie about this. I need that."

Vernon was relieved and smiled at Chloe. He drew near her and gave her a light kiss on the temple, "No need to thank me. It's just something I have to do, since you two are my treasures."

Chloe said nothing, but her cheeks reddened after that statement. She was genuinely happy to be placed at such a high spot and be called a 'treasure.'

She liked the feeling of being treated special.

Thus, Chloe kept staring at Vernon's back and silently murmured his name, wishing that someday, she would have her own happy ending with the man who treasured her and her daughter.

**

Vernon was busy with work today. He had a lot to do, including working with Diamond to call and check if some of the selected private schools were good and safe for Mackie.

Vernon's throat was a little sore after doing so many calls. He drank a glass of water and said, "We'll have a lunch break first. I've been calling at least thirty schools, both public and private. My throat is sore."

"Sure sir, would you like to listen to my report regarding Shailene?" Diamond said.

"That fast?" Vernon frowned. It hadn't even been a day since their last conversation about Shailene. Though he hated that bitch for talking shit about Chloe. He didn't have the urgency to ruin her life yet.

"Yes, Sir. Didn't I tell you that I have a personal beef with her? While our lives might not be connected, the shitty thing she did with her skill and power as a psychologist was beyond evil. I have to be the one who shut her up," Diamond said coldly.

"Alright, alright. I gave you the permission already, remember?" Vernon sighed. "So, what do you know after a night of investigation?"

"Sir, you know that she is a psychologist famed for handling patients of domestic abuse, right? Be it verbal, emotional, or physical abuse. She is supposed to be the best in her field."

Vernon nodded. Obviously, he knew that.

"I've done a little research, and found out that most of her clients are highly profiled women— celebrities, socialites, and rich old ladies with money," Diamond said, intentionally giving a hint. "Sir, from the information I got, Shailene has one secret client that pays a crazy amount for every meeting they set up, and she is rumored to be an old lady."